Course Content | Colin Doyle | Law Professor

Course Roadmap

Sun, 05 May 2019 00:00:00 +0100

I spent most of my first semester of law school in a state of total confusion. On a day-to-day basis, I was holding it together. I kept up with the readings, took careful notes, and was prepared for cold calls. Although I was able to make sense of each class and case individually, I had no clue how the different cases, legal rules, commentary, and history all fit together. It wasn’t until the end of the course — when I wrote an outline to study for the exam — that I began to see how the different pieces fit together.

I’ve created this roadmap as a way for you to understand how parts of the course fit together in a big-picture way even as we take a case-by-case approach to individual lessons.¹

I. Introduction

What are we here to learn? How can we do that well?

II. Remedies

What are the stakes? What do I get when I win? What do I lose when I lose?

A. Damages

Compensatory damages
Punitive damages

B. Other Remedies

Nominal damages & declaratory judgment
Injunctions

III. Negligence

Tort law’s major contribution

A. Introduction to the Concept

Introducing the reasonable person…

B. Duty / Breach

No duty, no negligence

Physical harm
Nonphysical harm

C. Causation

If a butterfly flaps its wings, can you sue it for affecting the path of a tornado that destroys your house?

Factual cause
Proximate cause
Joint and several liability

D. Defenses

Even when your client is negligent, here’s how you can still win…

Contributory and comparative negligence
Assumption of risk

IV. Strict Liability

Liability without (explicit) findings of fault

A. Traditional view

If you play with dynamite, you pay damages

B. Products liability

Unique role of manufacturers in society…

Manufacturing defects
Design defects
Warnings
Defenses

V. Intentional Torts

Aren’t you glad I’m covering this in a different semester from when you’re taking criminal law?

A. Intent

B. Types of Intentional Tort

Assault and battery
False imprisonment
Intentional infliction of emotional distress

C. Defenses

How to intentionally harm others and not pay damages

Consent
Self defense
Necessity

VI. Alternatives to Tort

I hope we have time for this

Pardon the pun. ↩︎

Slides

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0100

Spring Semester

01 - Causation - Basic Doctrine | (.pdf) | (webpage)

02 - Causation - Multiple Defendants | (.pdf) | (webpage)

03 - Causation - Toxic Harms and Factual Causation Review | (.pdf) | (webpage)

04 - Proximate Cause | (.pdf) | (webpage)

05 - Proximate Cause (Cont’d.) | (.pdf) | (webpage)

06 - Review Session - Causation | (.pdf) | (webpage)

07 - Defenses - Contributory & Comparative Negligence | (.pdf) | (webpage)

08 - Comparative Negligence (cont’d.) | (.pdf) | (webpage)

09 - Assumption of Risk | (.pdf) | (webpage)

10 - Assumption of Risk (Cont’d.) | (.pdf) | (webpage)

11 - Defenses Review | (.pdf) | (webpage)

12 - Strict Liability - Traditional Approach | (.pdf) | (webpage)

13 - Products Liability | (.pdf) | (webpage)

14 - Manufacturing and Design Defects | (.pdf) | (webpage)

15 - Warnings | (.pdf) | (webpage)

16 - Defenses | (.pdf) | (webpage)

17 - Intentional Torts | (.pdf) | (webpage)

18 - False Imprisonment and IIED | (.pdf) | (webpage)

19 - Defenses | (.pdf) | (webpage)

20 - Review of Intentional Torts | (.pdf) | (webpage)

21 - First Party Insurance | (.pdf) | (webpage)

22 - Third Party (Liability) Insurance | (.pdf) | (webpage)

23 - Workers’ Compensation | (.pdf) | (webpage)

24 - No-Fault and Beyond | (.pdf) | (webpage)

25 - Review | (.pdf) | (webpage)

26 - Review | (.pdf) | (webpage)

Fall Semester

01 - Welcome to Torts | (.pdf) | (webpage)

02 - How to Read a Case | (.pdf) | (webpage)

03 - Course Overview | (.pdf) | (webpage)

04 - Compensatory Damages | (.pdf) | (webpage)

05 - Damages | (.pdf) | (webpage)

06 - Punitive Damages | (.pdf) | (webpage)

07 - Damages Recap | (.pdf) | (webpage)

08 - Introduction to the Concept of Negligence | (.pdf) | (webpage)

09 - Reasonable Care & The Reasonable Person | (.pdf) | (webpage)

10 - Reasonable Care & The Reasonable Person (continued) | (.pdf) | (webpage)

11 - Judges & Juries | Customs | (.pdf) | (webpage)

12 - Statutes | Proving Negligence | (.pdf) | (webpage)

13 - Proving Negligence | (.pdf) | (webpage)

14 - Res Ipsa Loquitur | (.pdf) | (webpage)

15 - Res Ipsa Loquitur 2 | (.pdf) | (webpage)

16 - Medical Malpractice | (.pdf) | (webpage)

17 - Medical Malpractice Cont. | (.pdf) | (webpage)

18 - Review: Concept of Negligence | (.pdf) | (webpage)

19 - No Duty to Rescue or Protect | (.pdf) | (webpage)

20 - Duty to Act | (.pdf) | (webpage)

21 - Policy Bases for Invoking No Duty | (.pdf) | (webpage)

22 - Duties of Landowners & Occupiers | (.pdf) | (webpage)

23 - Midterm Review | (.pdf) | (webpage)

24 - Duties of Governmental Entities | (.pdf) | (webpage)

25 - Duty for Purely Emotional Harm | (.pdf) | (webpage)

26 - Duty for Purely Emotional Harm (cont.) | (.pdf) | (webpage)

27 - Midterm Review | (.pdf) | (webpage)

Class Recordings

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0100

Students in this class have access to watch all class recordings. You do not need to request my permission. Class recordings from the fall are available here. Class recordings from the spring are available here

If you encounter technical difficulties, contact LLS Instructional Technology at: instructional.technology@lls.edu.

Please remember that you are not allowed to record or share all or a portion of classes at Loyola Law School (video, audio, or photo) without the express permission of your instructor or the law school administration.

Audio and Transcripts

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0100

For members of our class, audio recordings and transcripts are available here. The link will only work for people whom I have invited to join the group “Torts Fall 2022.” Following our first class, I sent an invite link to each student in our class. You will also need to created an account with the hosting platform, Otter.ai. If you are unable to access the audio recordings and transcripts, please email me.

You will find that the Otter.ai platform allows you to correct the transcripts, make highlights, and add comments. You should know that these changes will be visible to the entire class. I encourage you to use the transcript as a collaborative document. You should feel free to make corrections to the transcript and to highlight material you find important or useful.